eBay to acquire Shopping.com

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eBay says it will acquire comparison shopping and consumer
review site Shopping.com for about $620 million ($A827.45
million) in cash.

eBay executives said the purchase, expected to be completed in
the third quarter of 2005, would put eBay sellers in touch with a
new set of potential buyers and boosts the number of fixed-price
sales listings, which are growing more popular with online
shoppers.

The deal also expands the auctioneer's efforts to provide more
reviews and customer feedback about products listed on the site.
Shopping.com controls Epinions, a site containing more than 400,000
amateur reviews on items ranging from computer servers to mountain
bikes.

The acquisition caps an aggressive buying spree by eBay, one of
the world's largest e-commerce companies and a rare dot-com
survivor in Silicon Valley's five-year economic downturn.

In December, eBay purchased the privately held real estate
firm Rent.com for about $US415 million in stock and cash.

Many of its biggest deals in the past year have been abroad.
eBay revenue outside the US last quarter was $US393.8 million, up
52 per cent from the same period in 2004.

Last year, eBay purchased India's most popular online
shopping site, Baazee.com, for $US50 million, and it bought the
leading Dutch classified site, Marktplaats.nl, for about $US290
million. In September, it increased its stake in Internet Auction,
South Korea's largest online auction company, with an investment of
more than $US325 million.

In 2003, eBay completed its purchase of China's largest
e-commerce site, EachNet, for $US150 million, after an initial
investment of $US30 million. eBay is adding new users in China
faster than those in any other country and now ranks as the top
e-commerce company there.

But a senior executive said the Shopping.com deal showed
that the company was still committed to expanding its audience in
the US, which isn't considered a high-growth market but remains by
far the world's largest for both online and traditional
retailers.

"The intent of the Shopping.com acquisition was to aid eBay's
overall global marketplace, but it does indicate that we are still
strongly investing in the US business," said Bill Cobb, president
of eBay North America, in a phone interview on Wednesday
afternoon.

According to the terms of the deal, eBay will acquire all
outstanding shares of Shopping.com stock for $US21 per share in
cash, a premium over its $US17.44 close on the NASDAQ on Wednesday,
before the deal was announced.

Lorrie Norrington, president and chief executive of
Shopping.com, said the 220-person company did not plan to lay off
workers because of the deal. eBay, which employs about 9000 people,
will absorb the Shopping.com workers.

"Our message has been that this is all about growth," Ms
Norrington said.